DIRECTOR Mark Watson

Mark Watson was a Cheshire Police Officer for 30 years prior to his retirement in November 2012. He served in a variety of roles throughout the county as a Constable, Sergeant and finally as an Inspector.

In recent years he worked closely with several Community Safety / Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships and was responsible for Community Race Relations in Cheshire.

He was involved in all areas of Diversity work and was Head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights for Cheshire Constabulary from September 2008 until his retirement.

In recent years Mark and his team have won awards for “Outstanding Commitment to Diversity” and “Partnership of the Year: Best example of joint work across the criminal justice system” at the Criminal Justice System’s National Justice Awards.

Mark has a specific interest in Gypsy & Traveller culture which developed from dealing with unauthorised encampments. He has been (and remains) a member of the NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council) Gypsy / Roma / Traveller Working Group, part of the NPCC Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Co-ordination Committee. Mark leads on work to develop a fair and consistent approach to Gypsy / Roma / Traveller issues by all agencies.

Mark continues to work as a Police Support Volunteer for the Cheshire Constabulary and its Deputy Chief Constable Janette McCormick, the NPCC national lead for Gypsy / Roma / Traveller issues.

Mark is also a member of Police Staff and works part-time as the Co-ordinator of Cheshire Crimebeat, a registered charity supported by the High Sheriff of Cheshire. Cheshire Crimebeat supports projects involving young people aged between 5 and 25 years.

Mark Watson


SECRETARY Kate West

Kate West photo


TREASURER  Petr Torak MBE

Petr Torak was born in the Czech Republic and is of Roma / Gypsy heritage. He has fled from the Czech Republic in May 1999 to seek asylum in the United Kingdom after several racially motivated attacks by skinheads groups.

Torak is a serving Police Constable in Cambridgeshire. Since 2006 Torak has been actively engaging in improving living and working conditions of Roma families in the UK and other European countries. He is a co-founder and current Vice-Chair of Gypsy Roma Traveller Police Association, Project Coordinator at COMPAS Group and has provided tactical advice to Police Forces across the EU and to OSCE. In 2013 Torak became a qualified ROMED Mediator under the Council of Europe.

In 2015 Torak had been awarded with the Most Excellent Order of British Empire (MBE) for his community work with Roma community in Peterborough.

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SLOVAK REPUBLIC COORDINATOR  Zuzana Kotlarova

My name is Zuzana Kotlarova and I am a Roma woman from Slovakia. Since 2005 I am employed by the Slovak Ministry of Interior, currently working as a Referent Specialist in city Humene. My main role is work with the Roma community.
In 2009 I had successfully completed a degree at Konstantin Filozof University in Nitra with the focus on social work in the Roma community. In 2013 I had completed PhDr. study at the International Business University with a particular focus on social services and advocacy. I am currently studying at University of St. Alzbeta in Bratislava towards my PhD degree.
In 2013 I was invited by the Ministry of Interior of Holland to assist with integration strategy for the Roma community living in Holland. In 2014 I was invited by the GRTPA to the UK to share my experiences with working with Roma community.

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CZECH REPUBLIC COORDINATOR  Pavla Conkova

My name is Paul Čonková, I was born in Czech Republic, Ústí nad Labem. I graduated from vocational school in the field of legal administration.

In 2007 i joined the Police of the Czech Republic, I attended the annual training in Prague and I was relagated to the traffic police.

During this time I continued to study at a university in Teplice, in the field of legal administration and received a bachelor´s degree.

In 2008 I was reassigned to riot police in Ústí nad Labem, where I work until now the position of inspector. My job is to prosecution, processing and investigating criminal offenses. From 2007 to the present time I have for my job was three times the Advancement.

Currently studying sign language.

Pavla Conkova 3